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Indianapolis teachers union voices transparency concerns over Rebuilding Stronger

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Indianapolis teachers union voices transparency concerns over Rebuilding Stronger


The Indianapolis Training Affiliation is pushing Indianapolis Public Faculties for extra transparency round the way it will relocate workers beneath the district’s Rebuilding Stronger reorganization, urging the district to additionally forbid closing colleges from reopening as constitution or innovation colleges. 

The record of calls for from the union, outlined in a press convention earlier than the Thursday faculty board assembly, is the newest in a litany of public responses, questions, and issues concerning the district’s proposed overhaul. 

The sweeping plan, which the board will vote on in November, is the district’s try to deal with dwindling enrollment at its conventional colleges whereas additionally increasing specialised educational packages to extra college students of coloration. 

The plan would shut seven colleges, three of which can merge with current colleges. The plan additionally reconfigures grades at 39 colleges, largely shifting Ok-8 colleges into Ok-5 and 6-8 colleges whereas relocating college students and workers all through the district. 

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The seven buildings left empty could possibly be ripe actual property for constitution colleges, that are allowed to purchase or lease the buildings for $1 beneath state regulation. Innovation colleges, a sort of autonomous faculty inside IPS, are most frequently run by constitution operators. 

Union members described confusion and conflicting data on workers retention bonuses that the district introduced it can award to numerous workers. In an replace on the assembly, the district mentioned it can present $10,000 to straight impacted workers within the 12 months that they’re impacted. Not directly impacted workers will obtain $2,000. 

However seven faculty websites got completely different solutions on the quantity of the bonuses and once they could be distributed in conferences after the plan’s unveiling on Sep. 13. 

“If the district goes by a lot of modifications — which we perceive, as a result of change is difficult and there’s a lot of transferring items right here — the workers should know what kinds of monetary incentives are going to be accessible earlier than making these actually robust selections,” mentioned IEA Vice President Jack Hesser. 

The union additionally known as for transparency within the workers relocation course of and a pause in a displacement survey despatched to workers, arguing that the questions had been imprecise. One query, academics famous, merely requested in the event that they supported the plan. 

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“It looks like a ‘gotcha’ query,” Hesser mentioned. “Most individuals are simply going to click on ‘sure’ no matter how they really feel as a result of they don’t need it held towards them.”

Lecturers additionally voiced concern about workers from colleges with specialised packages  — akin to Middle for Inquiry or Montessori colleges — displacing current workers as extra colleges undertake such educational packages.

The union additionally known as for the district to supply translation providers to households who don’t converse English on the many group conferences the district is internet hosting to elucidate the plan to the general public. 

The varsity board will contemplate a draft price range for implementing the plan — in addition to an up to date plan — in October, earlier than a ultimate vote in November. The district is holding group conferences all through the district earlier than the vote. 

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County colleges for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

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Indianapolis, IN

IU approves policy that will shutter pro-Palestinian camp at Indy campus

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IU approves policy that will shutter pro-Palestinian camp at Indy campus


by Claire Rafford

The Indiana University board of trustees approved a new policy Monday that will effectively shut down a three-month pro-Palestinian encampment at IU Indianapolis.

In a news release, board of trustees Chair W. Quinn Buckner said arrests and chaos at an IU Bloomington pro-Palestinian protest in April led the board to update and standardize policies across all campuses.

“We can’t let one person or group’s expression infringe on the rights of others, disrupt learning experiences for our students or interrupt regular university business,” Buckner said in the release.

Members of the Indianapolis encampment say the policy is targeted at the pro-Palestinian student movement and will limit their freedom of speech.

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Layth Abdulbari, a leader in the encampment and student at IUPUI, said though he is sad that the policy passed, he and the other members of the camp are looking into other ways to protest and build community. They are eventually planning to take legal action against the university.

“We’re really going to respond with action,” the 21-year-old said. “That’s going to be our primary response.”

Students have been camping out under the Kelley School of Business on IU Indianapolis’ campus since April 26 to protest Israel’s invasion of Gaza following the Hamas missile strike on Oct. 7. The students also are demanding that IU divest from Israel and the Crane naval base.

Abdulbari said that though the students plan to pack up the encampment in the next few days, they feel their presence did make a difference.

“The policy being made is an example and a testament to us being heard, because they refuse to listen, but they hear us,” he said. “There’s something to say about that.”

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Organized by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee at IUPUI, the encampment is one of the few remaining in the country after pro-Palestinian protests swept college campuses across the country this spring.

What’s in the new policy?


The new policy will ban all camping, no matter the time of day, unless it is part of a university-approved event. It also prohibits protest activity from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. A draft of the policy released in June only banned overnight camping.

The policy also bars demonstrations within 25 feet of building entrances, requires that temporary structures such as tents be approved 10 days in advance, mandates pre-approval for hanging signs and symbols on university-owned property, including lampposts, and prohibits amplified noise that “materially and substantially” disrupts university life.

The newly-approved protocol also includes limits on where and how students can write messages. Students can still draw with washable chalk on sidewalks, but cannot display messages on other university buildings, lampposts or walls; or write with permanent or semipermanent substances on any university property.

The new policy will take effect Aug. 1.

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Indianapolis, IN

Reports: Colts defensive end out for season with Achilles tear

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Reports: Colts defensive end out for season with Achilles tear


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts had their first big injury blow of Training Camp.

According to NFL Network, starting defensive end Samson Ebukam is expected to miss the entire season after tearing his Achilles tendon during team drills Sunday afternoon.

Ebukam was poised to have another big year as one of the Colts’ most dangerous edge rushers. Last season, the seven-year veteran helped the Colts defense set a new franchise sack record with his own career-high of 9.5 takedowns. Ebukam added 57 tackles and three forced fumbles during his first year with the Colts.

Before moving to Indianapolis, Ebukam was an impact player for the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.

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Ebukam’s loss will have a significant impact on the defensive line depth chart. His absence could open up more opportunities for rookie Laiatu Latu, who the Colts drafted 15th overall in this year’s draft. Latu was the first defensive player chosen, as well.

Fourteen different Colts players had at least one sack for the Colts’ record 51 last season. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley returns for his third year in Indy with most of his veteran playmakers — like Zaire Franklin, Kenny Moore II, DeForest Buckner, and Grover Stewart — back in the locker room, as well.

Saturday, Bradley was feeling confident with his leadership up front.

“I mean that’s where it starts, right, is with your defensive line, especially with who we have upfront,” Bradley said after practice Saturday. “We like our veteran presence, the leadership there. So we’re counting on them to kind of set the tone for the whole defense because we have a saying, it starts upfront. And really with us, that’s true.”

The Colts return to Training Camp Tuesday for the first practice in pads. Head coach Shane Steichen knows he and the coaching staff will learn a lot about their team with they go live.

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“It’s the first time we’ve put on pads since the end of the year,” Steichen said Sunday. “(We’re looking for) toughness really. You know what I mean? Pads are going to come on, it’s going to be more physical obviously out there and looking forward to that.”

News 8 will have continued live coverage from Grand Park in Westfield all Colts Training Camp.



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A disaster turns 79. USS Indianapolis sinking leads to world’s worst shark attack

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A disaster turns 79. USS Indianapolis sinking leads to world’s worst shark attack


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It was 79 years ago when a Japanese submarine torpedoed the USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser carrying nearly 1,200 sailors and Marines. The ship was sailing back to the Philippines after delivering components for “Little Boy,” the atomic bomb that helped end World War II. It sank in 12 minutes.

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What followed next resulted in the greatest single loss of life at sea, on a single ship, in the history of the U.S. Navy.

Read IndyStar’s prior coverage about the doomed heavy cruiser and the men who survived its tragedy.

When did the USS Indianapolis sink?

The USS Indianapolis sank shortly after midnight on July 30, 1945. The heavy cruiser was struck by two Japanese torpedoes. The first torpedo blew the bow off the ship, according to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. A second torpedo blasted into its midsection near the powder magazine, creating an explosion that literally split the ship in two.

How big was the USS Indianapolis?

The USS Indianapolis was 610 feet 3 inches (186 meters) long, according to Britannica. Roughly 900 men survived the ship sinking, of which only a little more than a third would be pulled from the water.

USS Indianapolis survivor: ‘That first morning, we had sharks’

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In a story published July 24, 2014, IndyStar reporter Diana Penner interviewed Corporal Edgar Harrell, just 20 years old on July 29, 1945. Harrell had finished his watch on the USS Indianapolis at midnight. It was, he said, unbearably hot and stifling where his berth was, so he got permission to make a pallet on deck, right under the barrels of the No. 1 forward turret.

Harrell had just dozed off. And then, a few minutes into July 30, the world exploded.

USS Indianapolis survivor: ‘That first morning, we had sharks’

What kind of sharks attacked the crew of the USS Indianapolis?

It’s believed oceanic whitetip sharks attacked the surviving members of the USS Indianapolis in what became known as the “worst shark attack in history.” These grayish brown sharks, which can reach up to 11 feet in length, are considered a top predator in the tropical and subtropical waters they hunt, according NOAA Fisheries.

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They are opportunistic predators, feeding on bony fish and squid but have been known to eat large tuna, marlin, sea birds, other sharks, rays, marine mammals and even garbage.

How long before the USS Indianapolis crew was rescued?

The ship sank on July 30, 1945. After four days, the survivors were discovered by accident on Aug. 2, 1945.

How many people died on the USS Indianapolis?

Accounts of how many people died in the sinking of the USS Indianapolis have long varied by one. Were there 1,195 sailors and Marines aboard the ill-fated ship — or 1,196? Did 879 men perish in the attack, in the water, or after rescue — or 880?

Two historians collaborated on a paper that helps explain the discrepancy, which boiled down to a record-keeping error.

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USS Indianapolis death toll: Historians resolve mystery of how many men died in 1945 attack

The famous Indianapolis speech from the movie ‘Jaws’

Actor Robert Shaw delivered perhaps one of the most haunting movie monologues in cinema history during the 1975 film, “Jaws,” which itself heralded the age of the summer blockbuster. In the scene, Shaw’s character, “Quint,” reveals he was one of the doomed sailors serving aboard the USS Indianapolis when it sank into the Pacific. The moment is fraught with tension as he describes what happened when the sharks arrived.

Sometimes that shark looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn’t even seem to be livin’… ’til he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all your poundin’ and your hollerin’ those sharks come in and… they rip you to pieces.

Actor Robert Shaw in the film “Jaws”

Shaw’s speech is quietly horrifying, underscored to perfection with music by composer John Williams. Ironically, while most of what Shaw says is factual, his monologue contains one glaring error — the date.

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Quint says the disaster occurred on June 29, 1945, when in reality the sinking didn’t happen until a month later.

Putting that aside, the scene remains iconic, offering a rare glimpse into what survivors of the USS Indianapolis endured.

James Briggs: ‘My grandfather survived the USS Indianapolis sinking. I never asked how he did it.’

Long before his work appeared in IndyStar, James Briggs’ grandfather was in this newspaper. In 2020, the 75th anniversary of the USS Indianapolis sinking filled Briggs with regret over questions he never asked.

“He was one of 316 men, out of a crew of 1,195, who lived to tell his story. He survived sliding down his ship into the water, he survived being covered in ship fuel and he survived spending five days in the shark-ridden Pacific Ocean with no drinkable water or food,” Briggs wrote in his column.

James Briggs: My grandfather survived the USS Indianapolis sinking. I never asked how he did it.

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Wreckage of USS Indianapolis found in Philippine Sea

In 2017, researchers discovered the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis at 18,000 feet below the Philippine Sea. News of the discovery came from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who led a 13-person team to find the lost ship.

Wreckage of USS Indianapolis: How researchers found the doomed ship at the bottom of the Philippine Sea

Learn more about the heroes of the USS Indianapolis:

Rest in peace: Closure, finally, for USS Indianapolis survivor

Retro Indy: The sinking of the USS Indianapolis

The ones they left behind: Remembering their lost ‘sailor boys’

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former IndyStar reporters Dawn Mitchell, Leigh A. Hedger contributed to this article.

John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at JTuftsReports.



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